Fort McMurray Fire Destroys Homes, Businesses – But Spares Ice Rink

The wildfire in Fort McMurray, Canada, indiscriminately burned homes, businesses and land as it rushed through the Albertan city, but there was one thing it couldn't claim.

In the image above taken by Canada's Department of National Defence, the Waterways neighborhood of Fort McMurray, ravaged by the devastating inferno, is seen from the air. In this neighborhood, virtually all homes and businesses were wiped out.

But not that ice rink, right in the middle of the photo.

Inside the charred streets of buildings that encircled it, the rink and surrounding vegetation were untouched by the blaze. Hockey is a passion of all Canadians, which makes you wonder if this rink was preserved by fire crews, or if the hockey gods were just looking out.

Google's Crisis Map included an updated view of Waterways in its Friday update, and as you can see in the image below, much of the neighborhood was lost. All except that ice rink, its view partially obstructed by a cloud inside the red circle.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: The Fort McMurray Wildfire